


one does not simply walk into mordor

by rubanrose



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Fluff, M/M, Romance, jaemin is popular, mark is a nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 00:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10842459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubanrose/pseuds/rubanrose
Summary: jaemin's plan to go from being mark's chaotic not-truly-bad-at-chemistry lab partner to boyfriend is simple, and it consists of spending 10 hours watching frodo throw a ring in a volcano





	one does not simply walk into mordor

**Author's Note:**

> i know you dont have to be a nerd to like lord of the rings this is just american movie stereotypes. i hope you'll enjoy it and that this isn't too terrible, it's my first time writing this ship and i'm not sure how it is

Mark is an awkward mess. He barely answers when Jaemin tries to talk to him, unable to even look at him in the eyes. He reads books Jaemin would never read, about spaceships and aliens. He gets excited when they’re doing labs in chemistry, trying to explain to Jaemin who can’t follow his explanations because his thoughts are a mess but smiles and nods because he loves seeing Mark excited. 

Jaemin is in love with him. He loves everything about him, his dorky laugh, his nerdy jokes, even their awkward silences. 

“ _ No! _ ” 

Jaemin almost drops the graduated cylinder filled with acid he’s holding. Mark’s voice had been loud, getting the attention of a few teams around them. The older boy gets flustered at the unwanted stares and looks down, his cheeks taking a pink tint. Jaemin hates himself for almost messing up but mostly he hates himself for looking stupid in front of Mark again. 

“You can't put water in acid,” he whispers to Jaemin. 

The younger boy smiles at him, putting the graduated cylinder back onto the counter. 

“Yeah, this is a bad idea. I’ll go get us more distilled water,” Jaemin says, walking across the class. He finds Lucas in front of the water container. 

“He hates me,” he tells his friend with a sigh and Lucas shrugs. 

_ Make an effort _ is all Lucas mutters before leaving, abandoning Jaemin to his boy problems. Although he loves Lucas, Jaemin wishes he had more useful friends. 

When he walks back to their work space, Mark has already done most of what needed to be done. 

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Jaemin asks, pushing his goggles up his nose. Mark hands him the chronometer. 

“Start it when there are bubbles. And next time please remember you have to put acid in water, and not the other way around. Wouldn't want you to die,” mutters Mark. 

_ Wouldn't want you to die _ , he'd said. Jaemin’s eyes widen. 

“The chronometer!” Mark says, and Jaemin quickly presses the button. 

“Did I ruin it?” he asks, worried. He leans closer to Mark to look at the reaction, trying to control his breathing as their arms come in contact. 

Mark shakes his head. 

They go back to the lab, Jaemin standing a safe distance away. He watches Mark. Not even the lab goggles he’s wearing over his glasses made him look ugly. He’s focused on the results, eyebrows furrowed cutely. Jaemin’s eyes never leave him, watching his every move with attention. 

Jaemin feels like that emoji that has hearts where his eyes are supposed to be. 

At the end of the class, Jaemin sees Mark has brought a book. 

“The Lord of the Rings?” he asks, and Mark looks up, his eyes lighting up. 

“I’m reading it for the second time. It’s such a good book, and the movie is almost as good which is pretty rare. Have you seen them?” 

Mark’s excited and Jaemin feels bad when he shakes his head no. 

“Oh,” is all Mark says and both of them fall silent. 

 

* * *

“You're a nerd. Tell me how to pick up a nerd,” demands Jaemin to his childhood friend as they sit on the couch in his basement, the curtains closed to block the bright sunlight so they can watch  _ Lord of the Rings _ in peace. It’s Jaemin’s introduction to being a nerd, but 2 hours in and he’s already bored. 

Jaemin could be called popular. He’s on the basketball team, although his role is mostly bench warming, sits at one of the tables by the window during lunch period and has girls confessing to him almost every day. He doesn’t really understand the concept of popularity, but he doesn’t like how it makes everyone assume he’s better than them, that there’s a wall between him and them. It makes it harder for him to befriend Mark, so he’s trying to turn the wall into a bridge by understanding Mark’s world.  

Jaemin’s had a crush on Mark since freshmen year of high school, when they ended up next to each other in history and Mark spent the periods reading instead of listening to the teacher. Jaemin thought he was cute, round glasses perched on his nose, high cheekbones, soft eyes and adorable ears. His crush on him for the 2 years that followed was something he easily ignored. It was more like  _ ‘I smile when we pass each other in the hall’,  _ or  _ ‘sometimes I think about you when I can’t sleep and I’d really like to hold your hand’.  _ He pushed Mark to the back of his head because he couldn’t just walk up to him and ask him out when they hadn’t even been introduced. 

On the first chemistry class of the year, Mark and Jaemin were assigned to be partners and soon Jaemin’s crush expanded to  _ ‘I think about you all the time’  _ and  _ ‘I look for you everywhere I go’.  _ He doesn’t think about Mark when he can’t sleep, Mark  _ is  _ the reason he can’t sleep. He knows he has to do something about is crush because it’s eating him up. 

“Be nice to him,” says Jeno. 

Jaemin repeats after him in a high pitched voice, rolling his eyes. “I am nice to him!” 

“Stop acting like an idiot around him then. You're better at chemistry than I am, why do you pretend you don't even know what molar concentration is?” asks Jeno and it makes Jaemin groan loudly, rolling on the couch until he can hide his face against Jeno’s arm. 

“I'm not even pretending, I turn clumsy and stupid when he's around,” says Jaemin, his voice muffled by Jeno’s shirt. .

It’s true he isn’t as terrible at chemistry as he seems to be. His dad is a science teacher and Jaemin spent most of his childhood with the TV on Discovery Channel instead of Cartoon Network. His mom is an elementary school teacher, and she taught him how to read before he entered school which resulted in him skipping first grade. With both of his parents being teachers he has no choice but to be somewhat smart. 

“If you can’t pick him up with your intelligence, what do you even have left?” says Jeno and Jaemin gasps as he sits straight, pretending to be offended. 

“I’ll have you know that I was voted  _ best smile  _ for two years in a row at school,” retorts Jaemin. 

“I say you follow him around while smiling, since everything else you do turns out to be a complete fail,” suggests Jeno and Jaemin hits his arm. 

“You’re not even trying to help me,” he pouts. 

“Would you rather watch this movie alone?” 

Jaemin grabs Jeno’s arm. “You can’t leave me alone in times like this.” 

 

* * *

 

“How did you do on the exam?” Mark asks, leaning towards Jaemin’s side of the desk. He sees the bright red  _ 99%  _ on Jaemin’s sheet and freezes. 

Jaemin stares at him. “Pretty well,” he states the obvious, a small smile on his lips. 

Mark frowns, leaning back into his chair. His own copy is marked with a  _ 96% _ . 

“Good job,” says Mark, but it doesn’t sound very sincere. 

Jaemin is internally freaking out. How is he supposed to explain to Mark how he always messes up in lab but gets 99% on the exam? 

“Can we talk after class?” Mark whispers. 

Jaemin nods, his eyes widening. 

He has to hold his hands together tightly for the rest of the class to keep himself from biting his nails. His thoughts are going in circles and he worries too much about things he shouldn’t be worrying about. 

Mark probably hates him. He probably wants to tell him to die. It’s understandable, really, Jaemin’s a mess and he’s annoying. 

Mark seems nervous when they walk out of the class together and wait for everyone to leave. Jaemin looks down at his shoes until the hallway is empty and Mark clears his throat. Jaemin looks up at him. Mark is biting his lips, his eyes roaming around instead of looking directly at Jaemin. He’s shifting his weight back and forth, probably a nervous habit. 

“Hm, Jaemin, I know people like you think you can step on people like me and it doesn’t really matter to me but,” Mark pauses, “can you not pretend to be bad at chemistry so I do all the work in lab?”

Jaemin’s eyes widen and he takes a step forward but Mark stops him with his hand. 

“I know you don’t care about how I feel but I don’t like being used like this,” he continues. 

“Hyung, that’s-” 

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Mark says, and Jaemin’s words get stuck in his throat and he knows he can’t let Mark go without explaining anything to him. He would hate himself too much, but he doesn’t know what to say. His tears fill up with tears and he blinks furiously to try to stop them. 

“I’m not-” he stops, breathing sharply, and a few tears run down his cheek. 

He messily tries to dry his cheeks. “I don’t know why I’m crying,” he says, but the tears won’t stop and Mark seems panicked at Jaemin’s reaction, frozen in his spot. 

“I’m so sorry it looks like I was using you,” Jaemin finally manages to say after a minute of trying to stop crying. “It’s just…” 

He looks down at his feet, unable to look at Mark as he says it. “I have a huge crush on you and I become clumsy when you’re around and that’s why I keep messing up in lab,” he admits. 

“Oh…” Mark says, and an awkward silence fall upon them. 

Jaemin fidgets in his spot, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. 

“I’m really sorry,” Jaemin says again. 

“Do you really like me? Is this a joke?” Mark asks, and his previous fake confidence was gone, replaced by vulnerability. He’s blinking at Jaemin, waiting for an answer. 

“I…” 

Jaemin doesn’t know how to prove him that he likes him. He stutters when he tries to say something again and curses. 

Mark takes a few steps to walk by him and leave but Jaemin moves quickly to block him. 

“You shall not pass,” he says in his most serious tone. Mark raises an eyebrow, his lips curling into a small smile once the shock is gone. 

“I watched it last weekend. All three movies. And you know I still don’t really get why they had to make three long ass movies about a gremlin throwing a ring-”

“A hobbit?” 

“Yeah that, throwing a ring into a volcano, but you know, I quite enjoyed the talking trees and that blond elf was pretty hot. I’d like to know what conditioner he uses when he washes his hair because damn. Wait, that’s not-” Jaemin breathes, rolling his eyes at himself. “Anyway, I didn’t always get why they were fighting and what was happening but it was a pretty nice movie and no, I didn’t watch it because I felt like it but because I know you like it and I was trying to take interest in what you like.” 

Jaemin groans, hiding his face in his hand. He rambles when he’s nervous. 

“You watch  _ The Lord of the Rings _ for me?” Mark asks in a whisper. 

Jaemin nods. “I’d watch it all over again if you wanted to watch it with me. And…” he looks down. “If you let me hold your hand.” 

Mark’s cheeks are turning the color of strawberries and Jaemin’s smile widens as Mark gives him a small nod. 

“Is that a yes?” 

Mark’s nod is more confident this time and he risks a look into Jaemin’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding and getting mad at you,” he apologizes. 

“It’s not your fault! I’m sorry for not properly confessing to you...I was scared.” 

Jaemin bites his bottom lip out of nervousness and holds his hand out for Mark. The older boy laughs softly and takes his hand, intertwining their fingers. Jaemin feels warm. 

 

* * *

 

They’re on Mark’s couch and a movie about some sort of aliens is playing on the TV. Mark leans against Jaemin and the younger boy smiles, encircling his boyfriend with his arms. 

He clears his throat and leans down to Mark’s ear. “My precious,” he says in his best imitation of Gollum. 

It sends Mark in a fit of giggles. 

“Did you practice that?” he asks, a stupid grin on his face.

Jaemin nods proudly. “I thought it would express my love for you.” 

Mark rolls his eyes. They’re not paying attention to the movie anymore, engrossed in their affection. 

“I love you too,” Mark says, and he leans forward to press a kiss to Jaemin’s lips. 

**Author's Note:**

> you can follow me on twitter if u want @astrohmygiri my main fandoms r astro/oh my girl/loona/dreamies


End file.
